Thinning hair is a condition that plagues both men and women, even though men usually suffer more from it than women. Hair loss can reduce the well being due to vanity as well as general skin health of the scalp due to greater exposure to the sun. While it occurs to just about everyone to a greater or lesser degree most people will experience some obvious hair loss as they age. Fortunately there is a best shampoo for thinning hair to minimize that effect.

Both men and women experience hair loss, but it is more a matter of thinning the profusion of active hair follicles in women rather than pattern baldness that typically causes male hair loss.

Healthy hair follicles continue to produce hair from infancy through adulthood in a generally thick distribution over the head. There are hundreds of marketed hair-care products, shampoos, conditioners, gels, sprays, etc., that provide hair cleanliness and improve the appearance over the course of life. The progression of hair loss, if it occurs, can present a set of circumstances better served by a change of use of hair-care products, particularly in the choice of the best shampoo for thinning hair.

One must know the physiology of pair production to understand why hair loss would suggest a change in hair-care products to either minimize hair loss or at least keep the hair and scalp as healthy as possible in spite of hair loss by using the correct products and care.

Each hair follicle – there are generally about 110,000 hair follicles on the average head – produces one hair at a time which will grow an average of five inches per year and each hair remains for two to six years before falling out. The follicle just losing hair will rest for a period of time before reproducing another hair. This process continues until the follicle is rendered incapable of producing another hair naturally.

The most essential part of a hair follicle is the papilla of hair at the root of the follicle. The papilla is responsible for generating hair growth. Unfortunately, some people, as they age, lose the efficacy of the papilla. The resulting hair loss begins as a miniaturization of the hair follicle, resulting in each hair’s thickness reducing, shortening and losing pigment. Without proper care, this process will accelerate until the follicle fails in the production of new hair.

The loss of hair is generally caused by a metabolic change in the body in its production of androgen. The increase of one androgen, DHT, is instrumental in the loss of the ability of a follicle to produce hair. The volume of production of DHT is genetic and the more DHT produced, the faster the process of thinning hair will continue.

Once the process of hair loss begins, there are means to retard its progress with a change in shampoo in order to apply a select set of ingredients to keep the scalp clean while retarding hair loss.

Hair in any condition of fullness requires periodic, thorough cleansing. Many people consider “periodic” to be a daily exercise, and there is not valid data to suggest that the use of a mild shampoo on a daily basis will accelerate the thinning process. Quite the contrary, because hair loss begins as a process of naturally losing hair from a follicle, it rests for a period before regeneration, leaving the follicle subject to collection of debris which could limit the follicle’s ability to function as it should.

Therefore, a prerequisite of proper hair care, regardless of, but particularly when thinning progresses, is to keep the scalp cleansed properly. A mild shampoo is the best shampoo for thinning hair to keep the follicles clear of debris.

Of secondary importance is that the shampoo does not contain harsh chemicals, particularly a variety of bleaching agents (not necessarily associated with hair dyes), that may actually contribute to follicle miniaturization or weakening of hair.

The third essential aspect of the best shampoo for thinning hair is that it helps promote hair growth by stimulation of blood circulation. The papilla of hair is in direct contact with blood capillaries. If they can be stimulated to increase circulation by the addition of an appropriate ingredient, hair production is likely to continue.

Make sure you meet these three requirements, so that hair thinning can be a more prolonged or limited before reaching baldness.

Dealing with thinning hair

About the author

I am 53 years old and live in Miami. I have two kids, one boy and one girl with my wife Linda. My son Jon is now 19 years old and in College. My daughter Jennifer is 14 and still in High-School. We also have a dog. When I don’t work in the marketing department of a health company, I like to spend time outdoors with my family and friends. I don’t do as much sport as I should but my family and me go on a skiing vacation at least once a year.